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Richard Rider (Earth-616)
Most of the Nova Corps and New Xandar had been destroyed by the Annihilation Wave. Richard now contained the Worldmind, giving him substantially increased power in order to battle the threat. However, it is not known how long he could contain the Worldmind. Drax had offered to assist him. Later, in an effort to buy more time for the evacuation of the besieged planet Nycos Aristedes, Nova and Quasar punched through the Annihilation Wave to meet Annihilus face to face on his own command ship. In the ensuing battle, Quasar was killed and, though Rider was forced to flee, his efforts, combined with the timely intervention of the Worldmind, succeeded in driving the Annihilation Wave to retreat from the sector and secure the planet's complete evacuation. Faced with the universal threat Annihilus now posed, Rider and the Worldmind agreed to abandon the search for a safe haven and remained joined together to fight the Wave head on. 205 days after Annihilation Day, Richard Rider formed an army, the United Front, to oppose the Annihilation Wave. His land-based army included Drax the Destroyer, Gamora, Ronan the Accuser and Starlord (Peter Quill), while his outer-space forces consisted primarily of Firelord, Red Shift and Stardust, former Heralds of Galactus. Rider and his forces fought valiantly holding off the wave as best as they could gaining small victories here and there. Other allies joined the United Front like Super Skrull and Phyla-Vell. The Front was made up of hundreds of species all fighting to stop the Wave. After months of fighting Nova finally confronted Annihilus and the two began a fierce battle. Phyla-Vell attempted to join, but finds that Nova had sealed her and Quill in an energy bubble, wanting to face Annihilus alone. Using the quantum bands, Annihilus proved to be too much for Nova. Phyla-Vell forced her way out of the bubble and attacked Annihilus, attempting to wrest the quantum bands from him. Annihilus threw her aside, but the quantum bands abandoned Annihilus and joined with Phyla-Vell. Annihilus fought on, but Nova surmised that the gap in Annihilus' armor was his mouth, forcing his hand down Annihilus' throat and tearing out his insides, yelling "This is for the Nova Corps!!". Both Annihilus and Nova slumped to the ground as Nova looked up to see the veiled figures of Thanos and Lady Death looking over him and smiling. Nova told them "Better luck next time". The war was over, Annihilus' forces were defeated and treaties were signed. Ronan now Emperor of the Kree offered to make Nova an honorary Kree. Nova was left debating his future and wondered if he should return home to Earth. Post Annihilation/Civil War Richard and Worldmind went to maintain the duties of the Nova Corps by himself, but got overwhelmed by his sense of duty. As he recklessly tried to shortcut one of the mission travels, he ended up crashing on Earth in wake of The Initiative. He went to his parents, learning about the Stamford incident, involving the New Warriors accidentally causing the death of 612 people, most of them children, while chasing supervillains. Then suddenly, S.H.I.E.L.D. steps onto the front lawn, having presumed Rider to be an extra-terrestrial threat due to his high power level. Hostilities calmed down when Iron Man, current Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., recognized him. On the Helicarrier, they both talked about their respective wars that they've fought. Iron Man asks him to register with the Initiative, stating that him being a New Warrior and displaying unmatched discipline and responsibility, which the Initiative was striving for in their superhumans, could revise the public's current issues about superhumans and redeem the New Warriors. Rider asks for 24 hours before he makes a final decision. He then meets Justice on the launch deck, who also asked him to join the Initiative. However, while Rider slept on it, Worldmind secretly took over his body, frightening his parents. By morning, he decides to show Worldmind his hometown, when he is attacked by Diamondhead, who had been waiting since Stamford for him to return. He manages to subdue him but after turning his foe in to the police, he is confronted by Thunderbolts, the government's unregistered superhuman hunters. The fight was shortly stopped by Iron Man, and he given a short tour to Richard's old school, where they debated the different ideologies between common purposes and abuse of powers. When he returned home, Richard's parents thought that he was crazy and asked him to register and get himself "looked at" by S.H.I.E.L.D., but he just didn't know what to do. Penance, revealing himself as Robbie Baldwin, came to his house, and urged him to register, to make things better, but Richard thought that his world had gone insane. Saying his goodbyes to Penance and his parents he eventually went back to his Nova Corps duties. Annihilation Conquest Upon leaving Earth, distress calls from all over Kree space summoned Rider to the planet Hala, seat of the Kree Empire. Approaching the planet, Rider encountered a contingent of Phalanx-possessed Kree Sentries that attacked him without provocation. The Worldmind reported that these Sentries were carrying viral programming that was nearly succeeding in invading its own systems. Cutting and running, Rider attempted to open a stargate and flee, only to impact at full speed against the energy barrier the Phalanx were using to seal off Kree space from the rest of the universe, mortally wounding himself in the process. Flung to a planet on the far edge of Kree territory, Rider's charred body came to rest in a crater near the encamped survivors of a downed Kree vessel. Working quickly to protect its host's remains from incoming Phalanx attackers, the Worldmind chose Ko-rel, a female commander of the former warship, conferring on her the powers and rank of a Nova Corps Centurion and the designation Nova 0001. Nearing death, Rider was transported to the safety of Ko-Rel's ship to give his suit's healing systems time to attempt repairing his broken body. Later, the Phalanx Select Gamora sneaked on board the ship and infected Rider with the Phalanx transmode virus, accelerating his recovery and making him a Select. Now a slave of the Phalanx, Nova rekindled his affair with Gamora, and spent a brief time as a Phalanx Select. Tasked with killing Rider before the Worldmind could succumb to the transmode virus, thus allowing the Phalanx full access to the Nova Force, Ko-Rel attacked him, guided by Worldmind's fast thinking. But once she incapacitates him, she hesitates to finish the job only to be killed by Gamora in retaliation. Upon Ko-Rel's death, the remainder of the Nova Force transferred back into Rider's now fully healed body, enabling him to contain his transmode virus infection and break free from Phalanx possession. Fleeing, Nova utilized the gravity of a nearby neutron star to create a wormhole and escape. In hot pursuit, Gamora and new Phalanx Select Drax followed Rider into the wormhole. Hurled haphazardly through space, Rider found himself far on the other side of the universe where he discovered Knowhere, a small, self-contained city carved into the massive severed head of a long dead Celestial. He met a telepathic dog named Cosmo, who explained that Knowhere is being threatened by the Abyss, a powerful entity and arch-nemesis of the Luminals, Xarth 3's equivalent of the Avengers, who is able to turn anyone into zombies. Rider is able to seal the prison the Abyss was held in, by using the transmode virus to repair it, allowing Knowhere to resume its daily life. Cosmo also provided Rider information about Kvch, the homeworld of the Technarchy, the Phalanx's parents. Using Knowhere's near-universal teleportation technology, Rider made his way to Kvch. However, Gamora and Drax follow him. Eventually arriving on Kvch, home planet of the Technarchy, Rider was able to enlist the help of the mutant Warlock and his son Tyro, who succeeded in completely curing Rider, Drax, and Gamora of the transmode virus before accompanying them back to Hala to engage the Phalanx. Bursting through the Phalanx's recently weakened energy shield, Nova saved Star-Lord's life and aided in the battle against Ultron. Post Annihilation Conquest After the Phalanx conquest, Rider helped Peter Quill (Earth-616) to start the Guardians of the Galaxy, before he went back to his normal Nova duties. He arrived on a planet that was about to be eaten by Galactus. He helped the people of the planet to evacuate and fought the psionic entity Harrow that was killing the evacuees. Harrow was able to jump from mind to mind, but Nova captured him. Unfortunately the ships that were supposed to evacuate the people were disabled by Galactus' electromagnetic disruption. Nova tried to beg Galactus to wait a few hours so the people could escape but Galactus ignored him. The Silver Surfer (Norrin Radd) then engaged Nova in combat and was able to force Nova down on to the planet, but Nova pleaded for the time to save the people, and the Silver Surfer utilized the Power Cosmic to shield the space ships. Nova returned to find that Harrow had escaped, then he fought it so all the ships could escape. As he was fighting directly under one of the ships, the ship started it`s star drive engines which killed Harrow, and knocked Nova down for a few seconds. When he regained composure, he found himself trapped on the planet. Worldmind blamed him for his carelessness in protecting his gestalt. Nonetheless, Rider was determined to escape before the planet was destroyed. He attempted to use one of the energy siphons to get onto Galactus' ship. Worldmind said that that plan was crazy, but he went through with it. With great difficulty, Rider was able to get onboard Galactus' ship, despite Worldmind going offline in the process. His suit's user support systems then detected the Harrow in its true form: that of a hideous insectoid. He attempted to kill the horrid creature, only for the Harrow to react to him, overwhelming his defenses with his telepathy. Through it, Rider learned that Harrow was hitchiking with Galactus, feeding off the terror while Galactus feeds on a planet. Therefore, he reveals Harrow to the Surfer and Galactus. The latter incinerated Harrow, before teleporting Rider five light years away, possibly out of a gratitude. However, the Surfer warns Rider that Galactus doesn't spare anything twice. Secret Invasion The Skrulls lure Rider to an isolated planet under the pretense of a Phalanx infestation, intent on killing him before he could return back to Earth and discover their invasion. However, Kl'rt, the original Super-Skrull revealed himself in the squad and saved Richard. He informs Rider that his people are on a religious crusade, and that they are attacking Earth. Shocked, Richard immediately rushed back to Earth, taking Kl'rt with him. The original Super-Skrull hides his ally from the others by pretending to turn on him. He heads to Project Pegasus to help his brother Robbie, where he aids Darkhawk in defense of the facility. Amazingly, Project Peagsus reveals that they have restore Wendell Vaughn to life and reactivated Worldmind, whom empowered the Minion drones in the complex, turning the tide of the battle. But just as a Skrull warship appears to destroy the base, it itself is destroyed by what seems to be Nova Centurions, saluting Richard as Nova Prime. Nova Corps Renewed The Worldmind revealed to Rider that it had taken control of his body while he was asleep, recruiting individuals to restore the Corps. Though feeling a little bit betrayed that Worldmind was acting behind his back, Rider decided to use the Corps to clean up the fallout of the Skrull invasion, taking down various villains, including the Serpent Society and Dragon Man. But Rider would soon become horrified when he discovers that Worldmind had recruited Robbie into the Corps. And worse, it had lobotimized Ego the Living Planet, to use as a base to restart the Nova Corps. Richard was cut off from the Nova Force after protesting the Worldmind's plan, in which the Xandarian supercomputer claimed to the Corps that the Nova Force had addled his brain. Powerless, Rider decided to go to P.E.G.A.S.U.S. to get examined on whether his mind was affected by the Nova Force. He also requested that they lure in some Centurion to confirm if they are being controlled by Worldmind. The latter proves correct, as Worldmind was using endorphins and subliminal messages to control the Centurions. Worse, he discovered that having hosted the Nova Force for so long had caused extensive damage to his body at the molecular level and he was in a state of molecular decay. He would die within 48 hours. Unfortunately, Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. was being closed down by H.A.M.M.E.R., just be they could attempt to find a cure. One of the facility's researchers Eve Necker, drown him to secret lab beneath a drive-in movie. However, he noticed a beekeeper uniform nearby and realized that Necker was working for A.I.M. He rushed out, refusing to be part of any sick A.I.M. experiment and smashed the quantum flask that could possible heal him. Just he had smashed the flask, Wendell appeared before him, had retrieved the Quantum Bands from Maelstrom after Maelstrom had stolen them from Phyla-Vell. Taking the bands, Richard was given a second chance on life and became the new Quasar. War of Kings Along with Wendell, Rider return to Nu Xandar to retake the Nova Force and stop the forced recruitment. Unfortunately, Ego had a massive cosmic awareness and could not be taken by surprise. Therefore, Rider created quantum copies of himself to make his assault. Once inside Nu-Xandar, he soon discovers that Worldmind did not subvert Ego, but rather Ego had suppressed Worldmind. With Wendell's coaching on how to use the quantum bands, he created a sanctuary, resembling his old room from Long Island, to protect himself. Conjuring up Rhomann Dey and Ko-rel, both remnants of the Worldmind, Rider learns that that when he took Worldmind to help him prevent the Nova Force from making him go insane, it neglected to do the same for itself. The Phalanx virus and the tangle with Galactus only made it worse, making Worldmind unstable, who called out to Ego for help. Rider then sped off to regain the Nova Force. Once he became Nova Prime once more, he lobotomized Ego. Unfortunately, Worldmind had to reboot its personality because of the damage it had sustained. The new interface became Ko-rel. Rider then went off in search of Robbie, who had left to find Xenith, the Shi'ar Praetorian who had massacred multiple Centurions. He tracked him to Kree-Lar, where he managed to defeat Xenith. Realm of Kings In the aftermath of the War of Kings, Rider admitted that the galaxy does need the Nova Corps. But knowing that throwing untrained recruits ino the fray would only get them killed, he decided to train the few remaining Centurions as probationers. To assist in this matter, Rider recruited Zan Philo, a MIA Centurion who had returned to his proper universe thanks to the time-space tear known as the Fault. Rider soon learned that his fellow New Warrior Darkhawk was wanted for murdering Lilandra Neramani. While chasing his friend and learning about a Fraternity of Raptors who all resemble Darkhawk, they are pulled into the Fault by their old enemy The Sphinx. In the end of the battle, Rider and Darkhawk return to their universe, unintentionally bringing along the former's lost girlfriend Namorita. Thanos Imperative Rider was alerted by Quasar, who had returned from a scouting mission in the Fault, that the tear led to a Cancerverse, filled with demonic versions of Earth's heroes. He headed to Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S., where Vaughan's counterpart was searching for something on Earth. He chased his quarry all the way back to the Fault, where Adam Magus summoned the creatures of the Cancerverse. In the ensuring battle, the Revengers, dark counterparts of the Avengers, kidnapped Namorita, determining her to be an anomaly. Heroic Age Rider was called upon by Captain Steve Rogers to join his covert team of Avengers as a reserve member. Unfortunately, while on his first mission to Mars, Rider became possessed by the Serpent Crown. | Powers = Richard Rider is the host of the entire Nova Force, a vast energy source that he can apply to grant himself a number of superhuman attributes. As host to the entire Nova Force, which was previously used to empower all members of the Nova Corps throughout the universe, Rider is now possessed of tremendously augmented strength and durability as well as near limitless quantities of energy that allows him to hold his own against other powerful beings such as the Silver Surfer. Superhuman Strength: Rider is able to channel the Nova Force for the purpose of increasing his physical strength to vast levels. While the full limit isn't known, the Nova Force can grant rider sufficient superhuman strength to lift well in excess of 100 tons easily. The Nova Force makes Rider one of the most strongest beings in the Universe. The Nova Force grants Rider sufficient strength and power to even engage and stalemate the likes of the Silver Surfer in combatNova Vol.4 #14 . He was even capable of going blow for blow with the likes of Annihilus himself in combat, and was able to rip him inside out. Superhuman Speed: By channeling the Nova Force properly, Rider can grant himself the ability to run and move at speeds that are beyond the physical limits of the finest human athlete. While the upper limit of his running speed isn't known, he can at least run several hundred miles an hour. He can move at speeds faster than light Superhuman Stamina: Due to the Nova Forces augmentation of his musculature, Rider's muscles produce considerably less fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of a normal human. While the full limits of his stamina aren't known, he is able to exert himself physically for at least 24 hours before the fatigue toxins impair him. Superhuman Durability: Rider's body is highly resistant to all forms of conventional physical injury and is practically invulnerable. He can withstand high caliber bullets, falls from tremendous heights, exposure to extremes in both temperature and pressure, powerful energy blasts, acidic corrosives, and tremendous impact forces without sustaining injury. While employing the Nova Force, Rider can easily withstand the rigors of deep space indefinitely. He can withstand attacks from powerful beings such as Annihilus, Silver Surfer relatively unharmed. He was able to withstand without any significant damage, the raw energy and power stored in the reservoir in Galactus' ship which contained power siphoned from the destroyed energy of entire planetsNova #15. He was even capable of withstanding a massive omni-directional blast from an enraged Galactus at near point blank range which was so powerful it encompassed and destroyed more than 3 Solar Systems relatively unharmedAnnihilation #6. Superhuman Agility: Rider's agility, balance, and bodily coordination are enhanced to levels that are beyond the physical limits of the finest human athlete. Superhuman Reflexes: Rider's reflexes are similarly enhanced and are superior to those of the finest human athlete. Regenerative Healing Factor: In spite of his great physical resilience, it is possible for him to sustain injury. On the rare occasion that Rider is injured he can purposely channel the Nova Force to rapidly heal damaged bodily tissues. The full limits and capabilities of his healing powers aren't known but he was able to heal himself any damage done instantly with the Nova ForceNova Vol.4 #15. Flight: Rider can use the Nova Force to propel himself through the air at tremendous speeds. Nova is fully capable of achieving faster than light velocities, and often does, while traveling through space. However, moving as such speeds while in the atmosphere of a planet would cause devastation to the planet itself, so he travels much slower while on within a planetary atmosphere, generally at supersonic speeds. Energy Generation: Rider can channel the Nova Force and expel the energy in the form of extremely powerful concussive blasts that he often uses in combat situations.A few of the abilities he has shown are, the ability to manipulate the near infinite energy of the Nova Force to create hyperspace portals in space such as Space Gates, he can release extremely powerful gravimetric pulses and beams, either from specific parts of his body or from his energy body surface, he can create powerful electromagnetic discharge that can nullify gravity. He can use the Nova Force to create extremely powerful energy attacks. He was able to lobotomize Ego the living planet himself, in one massive attack of energy using the Nova Force which was off the scaleNova Vol.4 #25. Xandrian Worldmind: Aside from housing the Nova Force, Rider is also the host of the Xandrian Worldmind. The Worldmind is a sentient collective created to govern and maintain all forms of Xandrian culture. The Worldmind contains all knowledge collected by the Xandrian people including art, science, history, and philosophy. Rider can access any aspect of this technology by communicating with the Worldmind verbally or mentally. As a result, The Worldmind often contacts Rider unbidden and usually offers advice, instructions, insights, recommendations, and even criticisms. Rider's bond with the Worldmind is highly useful, however, also in the fact that the Worldmind is crucial in helping Rider maintain self control when tapping into the full might of the Nova Force. . A few other capabilities demonstrated by the Worldmind are: *Helps Rider contain the whole Nova Force while keeping his mind and sanity intact. *Downloads profiles of opponents directly into Rider's mind''Annihilation'' #2, November 2006 *Detects nearby energy surges, including those used in teleportation''Annihilation'' #2, November 2006 *Can assume control of Rider's body as he sleeps''Nova'' (vol. 4) #2, July 2007 *Access other computer systems, including heavily-protected terrestrial computer networks (such as S.H.I.E.L.D. records)Nova (vol. 4) #2, July 2007 *Analyze attackers, including detecting adrenaline surges in their bodies''Nova'' (vol. 4) #3, August 2007 *Detects approaching super-humans with energy-based powers (like Penance)Nova (vol. 4) #3, August 2007 *Enables Rider to hack into satellite TV broadcasts, and transmit his voice and image to individual TV sets''Nova'' (vol. 4) #3, August 2007 *Can protect Rider from psionic manipulation using Psi-shields''Nova'' (vol.4) #13, May 2008 | Abilities = Rider is a formidable combatant and has been trained by Chord, though he is naturally more comfortable at using the Nova Force's energy generating capabilities during combat. However, he can access the Xandrian Worldmind and instantly gain knowledge of Xandrian hand-to-hand combat techniques which he sometimes uses in combination with his energy powers. | Strength = While his strength limit is unknown, he has shown enough strength to easily lift well in excess of 100 tons without effort. He is one of the physically strongest beings in the Universe. Whenever on Earth, Richard is easily one of the strongest and most powerful beings on the planet. | Weaknesses = Rider uses the Xandrian Worldmind to help maintain his mood and mental stability. Without it, utilizing the full power of the Nova Force would overcome Rider's mental stability, causing a severe mental breakdown and possibly insanity. | Equipment = *'Nova Corps Uniform:' To further stabilize Rider during his manipulation of the Nova Force, the Worldmind has specifically modified Rider's Nova uniform. The material of the uniform helps to contain and regulate some of Rider's powers by siphoning some of the energies of the Nova Force. The uniform also contains inhibitors that can manipulate various hormones in Rider's brain for the purpose of moderating his moods as needed. The uniform also has self-repairing capabilities, allowing it to seal rips and tears on it's own. As with past models, the helmet Rider uses with his current uniform resembles and feels like cloth when he isn't wearing it, though it adopts a metallic look and feel when he wears it. Rider can also alter the appearance and nature of his uniform to suit his needs. The helmet contained radio circuitry enabling Nova to pick up radio transmissions, monitor transmissions, telescopic sights, night vision sensors, and heat imaging sensors, as well as overlay a visual heads-up display for tracking energy signatures. Nova's helmet has a rigid construction and shape when worn, but becomes as malleable as cloth when it is not, allowing Rider to hide it in his civilian clothes when desired. | Transportation = Nova, in his responsibility of "Guardian of the Terran Sector" for the Xandar Space Corps, controlled a satellite orbiting the planet. Flight under own power. While member of the New Warriors vehicles supplied by Dwayne Taylor. | Weapons = | Notes = | Trivia = * His costume's internal computer includes a music library. * Nova shares the nickname "Buckethead" with fellow Warrior Darkhawk. * Nova has been mad at the Avengers for not joining and refused to be shown up by them, often taking the situation to his own hands. He has been called a "bush-league trying to make it in the majors" by one of the committee who were making the show. | Links = * The Nova-Prime Page * New Warriors }} Category:Nova Corps members Category:New Warriors members Category:Secret Defenders members Category:Superhuman Strength Category:Speed (Superhuman) Category:Durability (Superhuman) Category:Superhuman Reflexes Category:Superhuman Stamina Category:Flight Category:Energy Absorption Category:Strength Class 100 Category:Copy Edit Category:Regeneration Category:Energy Manipulation Category:Gravitikinesis